PREP BASKETBALL / STATE TOURNAMENT SOUTHERN REGIONAL FINALS : BOYS’ ROUNDUP : Second-Half Surge Gives Dominguez the Title

Compton Dominguez High utilized an 18-0 run in the fourth quarter to break open a close game on its way to a 69-45 victory over Riverside J.W. North in the boys’ Southern Regional Division I basketball final Saturday.

Before 7,135 at The Pond of Anaheim, Dominguez (32-2) turned things around in the second half, outscoring North, 45-21.

“I didn’t yell at the kids at halftime,” Dominguez Coach Russell Otis said. “I realized fatigue had set in because of all the games we’ve been playing lately. But I went over things we needed to do differently.”

Dominguez, the Southern Section Division II-A champion, earned its first trip to the state finals. The Dons will play Mountain View St. Francis, the Northern Regional titlist, Friday night at 8 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

The Dons’ victory capped a productive week, with the top-seeded team winning its three regional playoff games by an average margin of 31 points.

Otis took advantage of his depth against North (26-5), shuffling a dozen players into the lineup. Four starters finished in double figures, led by guards Jamen Brown and Kenney Brunner, who scored 14 each.

Senior guard/forward Tommy Prince, the team leader who is being recruited by UCLA, finished with only four points and four rebounds.